I'm not sure I have a favorite yet, I need to try some more tires first. Certainly going through rear tires fast enough.

Specifically I want to try the Hans D at least as a front - to see how it compares to the Rampage at least - and I'm still hoping for a more burly 2.2 to 2.3 rear tire.

If I were serious about racing I'd definitely have two wheelsets though, one setup with 2.2" tires for racing (like the Ikon) and one setup with mo-sturdy-phat tires for daily driving.

Best rear tire so far has to go to the Ikon 3c/eXc/EXO though - commensurate endurance with everything else I have used but a ton lighter and rolls super fast. Only thing is I didn't get to check it out under wet conditions, and it gives up a "little" to big-rock work because of lower volume.

If I was riding strictly dry conditions (like Austin) I'd seriously be thinking about the Ardent 2.4 on both ends, great volume, solid sidewall, relatively fast tire. For me up here in the great wetter NE I'm not sure it's the right choice. I may try "the ardent" thing next spring after the area dries out though.

but like I said, too many more tries to try. Schwalbe, Specialized, Hutchinson (is there a Python 2.3 29er - if it has a good sidewall it could be a great tire?), etc.

No surprise here I understand, but got my rear XR400 trued back up almost 2 weeks ago. Now two relaitvely tame recreation rides and a single10 mile race later... noticeably out of true again.

I'll be doing my BT review here in a little while probably and at this point I've got to dock at least 1 star from value no thanks to these effn soft DT rims and am considering knocking off a star overall as well. Sucks as the rest of the bike/build I love.

Thanks for the Central Tejas tire notes addATX, gonna remember this for the Dallas Metro area come tire replacement time. Although thus far the Ikon's have working pretty damn well on everything save dusty soft dirt and loose rabble. But since 90%+ of the trails are other man do they roll well and fast on the vast majority of what I ride on.

I wanted to jump on the bandwagon of XR400 hate also. After 50miles they were wayyyyyy out of true. It was bad! But then I had a wheel builder I trust go back over them, retention and true, and they've been solid since. I'm a clyde (220lbs) so I'm pretty hard on wheels.

Try running the Ikon at 28 PSI or there abouts. I find it rocks loose and loose over hard pack conditions here in SoCal.

EDIT: 11/16/12

I would like to retract the above statement. I just bent my front xr400 rim beyond repair on a steep rocky decent. I chose a poor line, by the rim should have held up... Went OTB when the wheel wedged between the fork.

Back on the xr400 bandwagon of hate. YO YETI! THESE RIMS DONT BELONG ON THE SB95!!!

I just picked up an SB95, originally was shooting for a SB66 but decided to give the 29er a try.

Anyhow, I have read mixed reviews on the wheel sets. My concerns is how well the wheel sets will hold up under my weight which is 273lbs. I'm loosing weight but not fast enough. So I'm looking into options as what to do. Should I have a local shop check the tension on the spokes or would my time be better spent looking for new wheels?

If it must be new wheels, what would be a good affordable alternative? Something that is a direct bolt in replacement so to say.

I've only had one problem with mine and that was my own fault. I got a broomstick sized piece of wood caught in my rear spokes on a steep downhill. It bent a bunch of spokes and the rim partially taco'ed on me. Otherwise, I've put ~1500 miles on them now without a problem at all. In fact, they've stayed remarkably true in that time.

Point of reference, I'm mostly XC'ing with them and I'm about 165 lbs right now.

I've only had one problem with mine and that was my own fault. I got a broomstick sized piece of wood caught in my rear spokes on a steep downhill. It bent a bunch of spokes and the rim partially taco'ed on me. Otherwise, I've put ~1500 miles on them now without a problem at all. In fact, they've stayed remarkably true in that time.

Point of reference, I'm mostly XC'ing with them and I'm about 165 lbs right now.

Well, in fairness, I out weigh you by 100lbs. I'm sure the XR400 are nice wheels but their not designed to handle my weight an abuse.

My riding conditions feature a ton of rocks and logs (NE PA) and often "at speed" - there's one memorable downhill I hit in Bald Eagle State Forest near RB Winter State Park where after the ride I figured that I was doing 15-20 mph in a carved turn through a 100 yard rock garden (6"-12" rocks).

I've also had the bike doing lightweight downhill at Burke Mtn in VT.

I have no problem believing the rims were not designed for that. The fact that I made both wheels become 'less than happy' leads me to believe it was the wrong equipment for me to have.

But the Flow rims have not much cared about what I've done on the bike. I have a minor hop in my rear wheel right now, but that happened because after burping some air at one point of a ride I was bombing another descent and hit a log hidden by scrub undergrowth - which I *almost* managed to hop over anyway ... got the front over it. Only way to defend against that is to slow down, and who wants to do that?

Welp it seems my personal ordeal with the XR400 rim is likely to be soon coming to a close. After a protracted discussion with the Yeti warranty department, which produced exactly zero options for resolving the problem... well unless, "customizing your own bike to better suit your personal needs can be a fun part of the sport" (ie thanks for the $3,600 and if the wheels we selected are causing you problems feel free to buy new wheels!) is considered reasonable problem solving, DT Swiss has offered the option to relace the wheels with their XM 490 rim for a reasonable cost.

However I have not found much rider feedback on XM 490 and wanted to see if you guys had any useful experience? In general it is a significantly wider, deeper and heavier rim compared to the XR400, which I'd assume should bode well from the durability perspective:

And that's exactly what I've been hoping to do, just took awhile to get to the point where someone, DT Swiss is this case, was presenting a reasonable solution. Still quite dissatisfied with Yeti's warranty department.

FWIW- just put a Chinese carbon fiber rim on the rear of my Big Top. Much stiffer, significantly wider (23mm inner rim width) and 110 grams lighter than with the XR400. Only have about 30 miles thus far, but am pleased at this point. If it works as planned, I'll be replacing the front rim with one, and building a set of race wheel with DT 240 hubs.

@addATX - I'm comforted to hear you actually have some seat time on the 490's. Agreed that it's not the ideal solution in my mind, I'd probably be on Arch EX's if I could do it all over again, but just to know that the 490's are at least a much better match for the capabilities of the bike (and the conditions in Central & North Texas) helps put my mind at ease regarding the decision. So I do very much appreciate your input.

Likewise I have been pleasantly surprised by the general helpful attitude of DT Swiss. They seem to very much understand the intrinsic value of quality customer service and from the very first email I received from their service department they were suggesting potential solutions. Good company indeed.

Do you mind me asking how specifically you managed the shipping back to DT Swiss? I was thinking of asking for assistance from the LBS, if nothing else than getting some appropriately sized boxes, but is there anything else from your experience that you'd note regarding shipping?

@bacon - Interesting idea. However at this point I really need to limit the hit to my pocketbook and DT's solution is definitely a very economical one.

Do you mind me asking how specifically you managed the shipping back to DT Swiss? I was thinking of asking for assistance from the LBS, if nothing else than getting some appropriately sized boxes, but is there anything else from your experience that you'd note regarding shipping?

Nothing special. I found a box that fit them, and used a bunch of crumpled newspaper to fill in the extra space.

Hello everyone.
I´ve found this forum searching info about the xr400 rims.I´ve recently built a set of wheels using this rim and want to run into tubeless.I want to use stans tape and valve only (no rimstrip).Do you think it it possible using tubeless ready tires?
I´m using my bike for xc only.
Thank you very much!